Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 6,221 Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 68,233 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,221 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $5,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EL. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 297.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In other Estée Lauder Companies news, Director Paul J. Fribourg purchased 75,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.93 per share, for a total transaction of $4,902,215.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 310,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,128,300. This trade represents a 32.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabrizio Freda sold 10,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total value of $743,259.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 295,838 shares in the company, valued at $20,045,982.88. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, HSBC downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.68.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

EL opened at $82.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.29 and a 12-month high of $159.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.64 billion, a PE ratio of 147.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.02.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.05. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 250.00%.

Estée Lauder Companies Company Profile

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.